JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Gabriel Alisna, left, makes an arraignment appearance with his lawyer, Keith Shigetomi Monday.
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A former Kamehameha Schools teacher pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of video recording three students showering at his faculty housing apartment, but he was granted permission to return to Washington State where he now lives.
Gabriel Alisna is charged with five counts of violation of privacy and two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault.
He is accused of videotaping the students without their knowledge at his faculty housing apartment in 2012 and 2013 and molesting one of them.
Alisna was indicted by an Oahu grand jury Dec. 18.
His lawyer Keith Shigetomi asked that his client be allowed to return to Washington pending his trial scheduled for the week of March 3.
Shigetomi said his client voluntarily surrendered to police Dec. 23 and posted $75,000 bond for his release.
Circuit Judge Richard Perkins granted Shigetomi’s request despite the prosecution’s objections.
The privacy violation charges each carry a prison term of up to five years. The sex assault charges each carry a maximum sentence of up to a year in prison.
After the arraignment, Shigetomi said his only comment is what he said in court — that this client is not guilty.
"We’ll fight it in court," he said.
A Kamehameha Schools spokeswoman said Alisna was fired from his job in March when the school announced it turned over the case to police.
Alisna was a speech teacher and debate coach at the school’s Kapalama campus.